THEY were once the preserve of students and lowly-paid backpackers but now scores of holiday makers are turning to hostels for cheap accommodation.

Online reservations for overnight stays in youth hostels have risen by almost a third in the last year.

Figures published yesterday by Hostelling International – the body which covers youth hostel associations in more than 80 countries – revealed that 87,123 overnight stays had been booked via its website for hostels in England and Wales.

The number of bookings is 31% higher than the previous year and bucks the trend for cut backs on non-essential spending.

Jillie Bardiner said that she has noticed a “considerable “ rise in the number of family bookings at her Gilfach Wen bunk house in Brechfa Forest, Carmarthenshire.

She said: “We tend to cater for groups who want to hire out a place to gather, but there definitely has been an increase in the number of people doing this.

“I now get groups of four or five families placing bookings together, which is nice especially for children as they have people to play with.”

The research also revealed that the countries with the biggest increase in overnight web bookings were America, France, Switzerland, Argentina and Belgium.

Three Parisian hostels were included in the list of the five most popular.

Mikael Hansson, chief executive of Hostelling International, said: “Hostelling International is the only hostel operator offering a global network of hostels with assured standards.

“Also, we have a unique membership benefit programme attracting almost four million members worldwide.

“Members are not only offered beneficial prices on accommodation, but also attractive discounts on a huge variety of activities and packages.”